CoxHealth to expand telemedicine services in area schools

Posted by Kaitlyn McConnell on Feb. 9, 2018

Soon,
even more local children will be able to receive health care without leaving
the walls of their schools. Thanks to a USDA Distance Learning and Telemedicine
matching grant, CoxHealth will begin offering health care services at 22 local
schools, helping reduce absenteeism due to illness – and even bringing
specialty care to students without even leaving the school building.

The
USDA grant – which is being matched by $90,000 from Children’s Miracle Network
Hospitals at CoxHealth – fuels an expansion of the health system’s first
efforts to bring telemedicine to local schools, which launched in early 2017.

At
the time, six local districts were involved. The increase adds 12 new
districts, bringing the list to include 22 schools in Aurora, Ava, Cassville, Eminence, Forsyth, Marionville, Miller, Monett, Mount Vernon, Mountain Grove, Ozark, Reeds Spring, Sparta,
Summersville, Verona,
Willard and Winona.

“We were expecting this program to be a success when it
launched a year ago, but we’ve been completely blown away by how many children
this has been able to keep well in school, or get back to
class faster from early treatment,” says Bridget O’Hara, Telehealth
Services manager at CoxHealth. “This success makes us even more excited for the
expansion, which we believe will help local kids and their families in an even
greater way.”

While
the program currently focuses on primary-care needs, the plan is to quickly
expand to offer specialty care for conditions such as asthma, diabetes, behavioral
and speech therapy. The visits, which are conducted virtually with
CoxHealth-affiliated providers, are completely optional. Parents are able to participate in the visit either in
person, or by phone or video using a smartphone (or other video-enabled device)
without having to leave work or home.

If a diagnosis is made, prescriptions are sent
to each family’s preferred pharmacy. CoxHealth partners with CMN Hospitals
at CoxHealth to provide financial support for medications for those in need.